AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
For centuries, Black churches in the U.S. have been sanctuaries for not just prayer, but activism, economic uplift and cultural expression. Preserving this rich legacy is the focus of the Preserving Black Churches program, which awards millions of dollars in funding for capital projects, program development and organizational planning. Preserving Black Churches, which is sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, recently announced this year's grantees, and New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is one of them. Sean Jarrett is the pastor there, and he joins us now. Welcome.
SEAN JARRETT: Thank you, Ayesha, for having me on today.
RASCOE: So let's start with the history of your church. It's affectionately called New J.
JARRETT: Yep.
RASCOE: Am I right that it was founded in the aftermath of the Tulsa race massacre?
JARRETT: That's correct. Our church was founded by a pastor and those founding women and men that came together to reimagine what a Black church could be after such a horrific massacre that destroyed what is known as Greenwood or Black Wall Street, and that was the center of commerce, but also the center of our faith and traditions. And as urban renewal came in, which became urban removal for African American families, many families - mostly of African Americans - were pushed to north Tulsa. And so in 1957, our church was organized by a founding pastor and a founding group of community members.
RASCOE: And so this is a community that was torn apart by the massacre but then also by the urban renewal that had been through all of these changes, both the policies and the racial terrorism that happened to them.
JARRETT: Exactly. If you ever come to Tulsa and go to Greenwood, right now, there is a highway that runs through what was once a thriving, bustling community. It literally cuts the community off from the rest of the city.
RASCOE: How would the money from the Preserving Black Churches program help New J, and how much were you awarded?
JARRETT: We were awarded $200,000 to create a endowment fund for the preservation of our building. Our building where we currently worship in is 70 years old. And so this $200,000 from the Preserving Black Churches grant will be matching dollars for $200,000 that we plan to raise. It will help us not have to make the hard decisions that many Black churches have to make - do we help someone respond to a community crisis or need, or do we maintain the building? And oftentimes, Black churches throughout America, we've had to make the decision that, yes, we do for our community while our buildings lie in ruin. And so we don't have to make that tough decision now.
RASCOE: Talk to me about the state of Black churches today and the need for this program.
JARRETT: You know, we hear conversations every day about the rising cost in America, right? I think sometimes people think that churches have some kind of magic ATM machine that we go to and withdraw money. And the truth is that we do not. It is becoming increasingly difficult to do ministry in a society where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer in some ways.
RASCOE: We live in a time now where there is a lot of pushback on this idea of diversity, equity and inclusion, this idea that you should even have groups, have movements focused on, say, uplifting Black people. And there may be Christians listening saying, well, what does being Black have to do with being Christian? God doesn't see color.
JARRETT: Listen, African Americans experienced discrimination and were forced out of white churches, so that - for them to be their full selves, to have the dignity that they deserved, the Black church became necessary for the thriving and survival of African American people in our country. But to be unapologetically Black as a church, it's not to exclude races. Black and brown but also white and poor people are welcome to come to our congregations.
RASCOE: There are a lot of younger people turning away from church in general, saying it does not meet their needs of today, and they're looking to more spiritualism or other things that are not the traditional Black church. Is that a concern to you?
JARRETT: It is a concern. This idea of, I'm spiritual but not religious, I think doesn't just have to do with, like, this whole dechurch (ph) movement. But I also think it is trying to figure out, what do I do with Christianity because it has been co-opted by Christian nationalism? I pastor in a city that is the buckle of the Bible Belt, where we have megachurch pastors who showed up on January 6, marching with flags and crosses, and it has been documented.
And I think there is a generation that's trying to decide, I love Jesus, but I don't want that Jesus. And I think the Black church has a opportunity to re-present Jesus in such a way that Jesus is on the side of what James Cone says of Black people and those who have been pushed against the walls.
RASCOE: What role do you think that Black churches have in American life moving forward then?
JARRETT: Speak truth to power, to be prophetic, that we have always been at our best when we have been socially conscious, spiritually attuned, really joining those together. They have never been separate in our faith traditions.
But, secondly, I would say, the Black church is still primarily the largest owner of Black land in America. If you lose Black churches, not only do you lose our prophetic witness, but we also lose Black ownership and Black institutions that have ensured that our young people go to school, our young people have access to basic resources and needs. And so what we own, we must continue to make sure we own it and continue to control it because we own it.
RASCOE: That's Pastor Sean Jarrett of New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Pastor, thank you so very much.
JARRETT: Thank you for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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